IT & ENTERPRISE - NEWS & ANALYSIS / SECURITY /

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom carrier said that it has opened up its entire mobile network information to its customers through an interactive online interface, called Open Network, under Project Leap, its national network transformation initiative, which is seeing an investment of Rs 60,000 Crores over the next three years.

The new interface, which uses geospatial tools and other technologies for accurate reporting of network coverage, will display Airtel’s mobile network coverage or signal strength across India in addition to network site deployment status.

“Open Network is a paradigm shift in the way we engage with our customers. With this initiative, we are establishing complete transparency with regards to our mobile network and opening ourselves to customer scrutiny and feedback,” Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel said.

“Today, getting permissions to put up a network site is perhaps the biggest challenge in delivering a seamless experience to customers. We hope customers will actively come forward and help us make our network better,” he said.

The interface will allow customers to check if the Airtel mobile network in an area is excellent, good, moderate or non-existent, along with the status of corresponding sites serving the area – existing, required, being upgraded or forcibly shut down.

The new interface, which will be available on www.airtel.in/opennetwork and myAirtel app starting tomorrow, will also allow customers to report their network related issues in an easy fashion.

In addition, customers can also contact the Airtel call centre or walk into any of the Airtel Flagship Stores across the country to report their network related issues, the company said in a statement.

All Airtel call centres and flagship stores have been specially equipped with solutions based on the new interface to respond to network related issues.

“I also want to thank the Hon’ble Telecom Minister for his proactive approach towards addressing the misplaced concerns around mobile radiation and supporting the industry’s requirement for site locations,” Vittal added.

Airtel is also deploying a range of innovative technology solutions including small cells, indoor solutions, wi-fi hotspots and carrier aggregation technologies to improve network experience inside buildings. Over the next three years, it plans to deploy over 1, 00,000 such solutions. Further, the telco plans to cumulatively deploy more than 550,000 Kms of domestic and international fiber to improve customer experience and serve the growing demand of data services for years to come.

Airtel is swapping its legacy networks and base stations with smaller, more compact and efficient technologies that will significantly improve customer experience.

During Financial Year ended March 2016, Airtel invested over Rs 15,000 crores across India towards deployment of over 88,000 sites. This is the largest network deployment anywhere in the world outside of China, the telco claimed.